HAIR MOSITURE TREATMENT RETENTION – PART 3
METHODS
- Use Satin Pillowcases And Bonnets
Sleeping with cotton scarves or pillowcases will not only damage your hair or cause split ends. They strip your hair strands of its much-needed moisture which then results to dry and dull looking natural hair. If you have to sleep with a scarf, invest in a silk one, a satin pillowcase, or better still get a satin bonnet, which would stay firmly on your head overnight. The satin helps to keep moisture that is already in your hair from getting out like it would with a cotton pillowcase or scarf and prevent snags or split ends from friction.
- Moisturizing with just oil and water
Water is a very important way of absorbing moisture into your hair and oil acts as a sealant to lock in moisture into your natural hair. A combination of both oil and water keeps your hair super hydrated and moisturized when you apply it daily.
What you need to moisturize your natural hair with is just oil and water, Coconut oil or any oil of your choice and Water
- Only Use Water-Based Moisturizers
When shopping for a hair moisturizer in the natural hair products aisle, be on the lookout for water-based moisturizers only. Water is a major moisture inducing agent so you need to find a moisturizing product with water as its first ingredient. What this does is that together with water and other natural ingredients like oils and creams which your moisturizer comes with, helps to keep moisture locked into the hair shafts. You should use your moisturizer daily to achieve well defined and refreshed natural curls over time. Some water-based moisturizers for natural hair you can try out include; Cantu Shea Butter Leave-In Conditioning Cream, Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie, or Cantu Shea Butter Curling Cream.
- Pre-pooing Your Natural Hair
A pre-poo is an oil treatment routine for washing natural hair to increase moisture and make the hair more manageable during wash day. Usually, when you shampoo your natural hair, the shampoo lifts oil from the surface of your hair and makes you feel like all the moisture has been stripped out of your hair. A pre-poo is applied to the hair prior to shampooing and conditioning of natural hair. A pre-poo adds extra moisture to your curls, protects your hair follicles, makes the detangling process a lot easier, and leaves you with soft, shiny hair.
What you need to pre-poo your natural hair are Coconut oil, applicator bottle, shower cap, natural hair gel
How to pre-poo your natural hair
- Part your hair into small sections.
- With the applicator bottle, apply coconut oil to your scalp and work it down the length of your hair, making sure to touch each hair strand. The coconut oil penetrates the hair cuticles and keeps it from expanding excessively when wet.
- Put your hair into sections and massage your scalp gently with the natural hair gel.
- Then cover your hair with a shower cap overnight.
- Take out the twists the day after and shampoo your hair.
- Find Out What Your Hair Needs
The key to moisturizing your natural hair the right way and keeping it moisturized is to find out what your hair needs. You need to know what type of hair texture you have, and to determine the porosity of your hair. Porosity is defined as the ability of your hair to absorb moisture. Your hair can either have high porosity or low position. When your hair is high porosity, this means that your hair is able to absorb moisture easily. Low porosity hair means that your hair doesn't absorb moisture easily. If your hair usually takes a lot of time to get wet or dry, you have low porosity hair. You have high porosity hair if you color and style your hair with the heat often.
Another way to check your hair porosity is by placing a strand of product-free hair in a clear cup of water and observing. If your hair sinks, then it means that your cuticles are lifted, and you have high porosity hair. But if your hair floats to the top and remains there, then this just means that your cuticles are tightly sealed, and you have low porosity curls. If your strands fall somewhere in the middle, your hair porosity is normal. Knowing your hair porosity helps you to figure out which products will work best for your hair.
- Use the Maximum Hydration Method
The maximum hydration method is recommended for people who tend to have excessively dry natural hair. It is specially designed to moisturize your natural curls properly and keep the moisture locked in. With the maximum hydration method, your hair will be able to retain moisture really well and become less prone to breakage, tangles, frizz, or shrinkage. This routine has to be done every day for a week in order to open up your hair cuticles and allow it to absorb a lot of moisture back into the hair. As soon as your hair feels hydrated, then you can repeat the routine every three days.
What you need to do the maximum hydration method for your natural hair are Apple cider vinegar, sulfate-free conditioner, leave-in conditioner, coconut oil, honey, natural hair gel, shower cap
How to do the maximum hydration method for your natural hair
- Wash and section your hair into four parts
- Clarify your hair with the apple cider vinegar mixed with the coconut, spritz it over the sections of your hair thoroughly. If you don't have apple cider vinegar, you can also use baking soda
- Cover up with a shower cap and let it sit in your hair for up to 10-30 minutes.
- Rinse out.
- Then you have to co-wash and detangle your hair.
- Split your hair into sections again, then apply the sulfate-free conditioner to each section and gently detangle with your fingers.
- Cover up with a shower cap and let the conditioner sit in for about 20 minutes before you rinse.
- For the clay rinse, mix 1 cup of Bentonite clay with 2-3 cups of water, honey, and coconut oil.
- Apply the mixture to your hair in sections.
- Cover up with a shower cap and let it sit for 10-20 minutes.
- Then rinse thoroughly.
- While your hair is still soaking wet part your hair into sections and apply the leave-in conditioner
- Rake the conditioner gently through your hair using your fingers.
- Then coat each section of hair with the natural hair gel, raking it through your hair gently.
- You can also apply coconut oil to your natural curls for a final finish.
- Trim Those Split Ends Off
Because natural hair is dry naturally it is more prone to frequent breakage and becomes unmanageable. Those split ends to make it easy for moisture to escape your hair shafts, so you may need to trim your natural hair regularly to get rid of split ends, brittle ends, and single strand knots. Over time this would help your natural hair grow and retain moisture.
- 16. Avoid Applying Heat On Your Natural Hair
This can't be stated enough, always keep heat away from your natural hair at all cost. Applying heat to your natural hair, styling your hair with heat, using flat irons or blow dryers on a regular will dry out your hair faster and strip the moisture out of your hair. And when this moisture is gone, it might take a while for the natural oils to remoisturize your hair. If you have to style your hair with heat, use a heat protectant spray first and a lower heat setting. Or you can explore alternative heatless methods of defining your curls instead.
- Deep Conditioning Your Natural Hair
After every wash, conditioning the hair serves as a way of adding moisture back into the hair shafts. The deep conditioning process involves raising the hair cuticles with heat so your deep conditioner mix can penetrate the hair shaft with all the natural ingredients and allow your hair to retain extra moisture for days. Deep conditioning your natural hair helps to prevent hair damage, dry/dull hair, and restores your natural shine. Ensure that you deep condition your natural hair at least once a week.
What you need to deep condition your natural hair are Shea butter, Coconut oil, honey, olive oil, castor oil, conditioner, eucalyptus oil, shower cap, wide-tooth comb
How to deep condition your natural hair
- Scoop two tablespoons of shea butter into a bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and 3 tablespoons of honey. Mix it together and heat over hot water.
- Get another bowl and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of castor oil, 1 tablespoon of eucalyptus oil and 2 tablespoons of coconut
- Blend this mixture properly.
- After you are done add the conditioner and blend for about 3 minutes.
- Add the first mixture of shea butter, coconut oil, and honey into the second bowl
- Blend the mixture properly.
- Now, divide your hair into sections and finger detangle.
- Then wash your hair.
- Add the deep conditioner to your hair in sections, finger detangling during the process.
- After you have coated your natural hair thoroughly with the deep conditioner, cover it up with a shower cap, and allow it to sit for about 30 minutes.
- Rinse out your hair and comb your hair with a wide-tooth comb while it is still wet.
- You can put your hair into twists or style as desired.
Thank you for reading.
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